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2 Dead In Protests After S. Korean President Ousted

SEOUL,
South Korea (AP) — South Korea's Constitutional Court removed impeached
President Park Geun-hye from office in a unanimous ruling Friday over a
corruption scandal that has plunged the country into political turmoil
and worsened an already-serious national divide.

The
decision capped a stunning fall for the country's first female leader,
who rode a wave of lingering conservative nostalgia for her late
dictator father to victory in 2012, only to see her presidency crumble
as millions of furious protesters filled the nation's streets.

Two
people died during protests that followed the ruling. Police and
hospital officials said about 30 protesters and police officers were
injured in the violent clashes near the court, which prompted Prime
Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the country's acting head of state, to plead for
peace and urge Park's angry supporters to move on.

The
ruling opens Park up to possible criminal proceedings — prosecutors
have already named her a criminal suspect — and makes her South Korea's
first democratically elected leader to be removed from office since
democracy replaced dictatorship in the late 1980s.

It
also deepens South Korea's political and security uncertainty as the
country faces existential threats from North Korea, reported economic
retaliation from a China furious about Seoul's cooperation with the U.S.
on an anti-missile system, and questions in Seoul about the new Trump
administration's commitment to the countries' security alliance.

Park's
"acts of violating the constitution and law are a betrayal of the
public trust," acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi said. "The benefits of
protecting the constitution that can be earned by dismissing the
defendant are overwhelmingly big. Hereupon, in a unanimous decision by
the court panel, we issue a verdict: We dismiss the defendant, President
Park Geun-hye."

Lee
accused Park of colluding with longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil to
extort tens of millions of dollars from businesses and letting Choi, a
private citizen, meddle in state affairs and receive and look at
documents with state secrets. Those allegations were previously made by
prosecutors, but Park has refused to undergo any questioning, citing a
law that gives a sitting leader immunity from prosecution.

It is not clear when prosecutors will try to interview with her.

Park
won't vacate the presidential Blue House on Friday as her aides are
preparing for her return to her private home in southern Seoul,
according to the Blue House. Park wasn't planning any statement on
Friday, it said.

Park's
lawyer, Seo Seok-gu, who had previously compared Park's impeachment to
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, called the verdict a "tragic decision"
made under popular pressure and questioned the fairness of what he
called a "kangaroo court."

South
Korea must now hold an election within two months to choose Park's
successor. Liberal Moon Jae-in, who lost to Park in the 2012 election,
currently enjoys a comfortable lead in opinion surveys.

Pre-verdict
surveys showed that 70 to 80 percent of South Koreans wanted the court
to approve Park's impeachment. But there have been worries that Park's
ouster would further polarize the country and cause violence.

Sensing
history, thousands of people — both pro-Park supporters, many of them
dressed in army-style fatigues and wearing red berets, and those who
wanted Park gone — gathered around the Constitutional Court building and
a huge public square in downtown Seoul.

A
big television screen was set up near the court so people could watch
the verdict live. Hundreds of police were on hand, wearing helmets with
visors and black, hard-plastic breastplates and shin guards. The streets
near the court were lined with police buses and barricades.

Some
of Park's supporters reacted with anger after the ruling, shouting and
hitting police officers and reporters with plastic flag poles and steel
ladders, and climbing on police buses. Anti-Park protesters celebrated
by marching in the streets near the presidential Blue House, carrying
flags, signs and an effigy of Park dressed in prison clothes and tied up
with rope.

The
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said two people died while protesting
Park's removal. An official from the Seoul National University Hospital
said that a man in his 70s, believed to be a Park supporter, died from
head wounds after falling from the top of a police bus.

An
official from the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul said another man
brought from the pro-Park rally died shortly after receiving CPR at the
hospital. The hospital official couldn't immediately confirm the cause
of death.

In
a televised speech, Hwang said "there would be people who feel they
cannot understand or accept (the court ruling), but it's now time to
move on and end all conflict and standoff."

Park's
parliamentary impeachment in December came after weeks of Saturday
rallies that drew millions who wanted her resignation. Overwhelmed by
the biggest rallies in decades, the voices of Park supporters were
largely ignored. But they've recently regrouped and staged fierce
pro-Park rallies since.

Prosecutors
have arrested and indicted a slew of high-profile figures over the
scandal, including Park's confidante Choi, top Park administration
officials and Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong.

Since
Park is no longer in power, prosecutors can summon, question and
possibly arrest her. Her critics want to see Park appear on TV while
dressed in prison garb, handcuffed and bound like others involved in the
scandal. But some analysts worry that could create a backlash by
conservatives ahead of the presidential vote.

Among
the most serious problems facing South Korea is China's retaliation
against the deployment of a U.S. high-tech missile defense system in the
South. Ties with North Korea are terrible, with Pyongyang seeking to
expand its nuclear and missile arsenal. Japan hasn't sent back its
ambassador, who was recalled two months ago over history disputes. South
Korea also worries about the Trump administration asking for a greater
financial contribution for U.S. troop deployment in the South.

Hwang
has led the government as acting leader since Park's impeachment, and
he will continue to do so until South Korea elects new president. Some
media reports said Hwang might run for president as a conservative
candidate. If that happens, he would have to resign to run and a deputy
prime minister would become interim leader.

In
2004, then President Roh Moo-hyun was impeached by parliament for
alleged election law violations and incompetence, but the Constitutional
Court later reinstated his power.

2 Dead In Protests After S. Korean President Ousted
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March 10, 2017
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